At the age of 32, a time when most politicians are just getting started, he finds himself in the middle of a quick political rise.

His youth is an asset, but it could also be a liability.

He can dare to dream and win - he won a Milwaukee County supervisor position in 2008, knocked off a Democratic incumbent to take a Senate seat in 2010 and guided a new generation of Democrats to victories in 2012.

But he could still stumble and fail - three of his Democratic colleagues blew off a caucus meeting in Madison last week, and he faces the prospect of a long season of defeats in a state where Republicans hold the governorship and both houses of the Legislature.

Yet if other more seasoned politicians underestimate him - and some apparently, do - Larson doesn't appear to be too bothered.

"You know what, I've always been an underdog," he says. "I think it's greatly appropriate because I like to fight for the underdog."

Sitting at his kitchen table in his two-bedroom home in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood, Larson reflects on his life and the state of politics in Wisconsin. A Christmas tree still stands in the living room, which is overrun with baby stuff.

During the course of the interview, his 31-year-old wife, Jessica Brumm-Larson, an assistant professor in the psychology department at Alverno College, returns home with their 8-month-old son, Atticus.

Atticus is named after the fictional lawyer Atticus Finch from the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird."

"We wanted to give him a hero's name," Larson says.

He views politics as a means of bettering lives.

"I love people," he says. "I know that I can help them. I know that I can do good for them."

Raised in Greenfield, the youngest of four children, Larson attended Thomas More High School on Milwaukee's south side. He ran track and cross country in high school and still runs marathons - 22 in 17 states. His goal is to race in all 50 states. His personal best is 3 hours, 11 minutes, 20 seconds.

In some ways, being a marathoner helps Larson view the long game of politics, to keep moving forward despite near-term setbacks.

"I gave a speech for the new incoming freshmen from Milwaukee," he says. "I said, look, this is a marathon. At the beginning, we're all going to be energetic, want to get out there. But realize some of these things are not going to get done. Things you care about are not going to get done in the first session. They might not get done in the second session. Some of them you have to work at for a decade and keep at them."

Larson is a determined person. He proposed twice to his wife before she accepted. After the initial rejection, he finally won her over by wrapping a ring in the smallest of 13 boxes one Christmas.

"His whole approach to life is he's very persistent and he's going to commit himself 100% to anything he's going to commit himself to," his wife says.

He worked his way through college - taking a series of restaurant jobs and later serving as a manager for InStep Physical Therapy & Running Center. He completed his undergraduate degree in 2007 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, with a major in finance and a minor in political science.

Larson says he still has more than $20,000 in student debt.

He earned political experience when he worked as a field coordinator in Kenosha for the Democrats in 2006. Two years later, Larson, friends and family knocked on doors, and he won a race for Milwaukee County supervisor.

Took on incumbent Plale

In 2010, Larson made his big move by taking on state Sen. Jeff Plale in a Democratic primary. He says some party insiders told him that the race wouldn't be pretty and his time in politics would end.

"We'll wipe the floor with you," he says he was told. "Well, like a normal person, I had a few sleepless nights after that. But then I realized that's exactly why I had to run."

He ran his campaign out of his home - the campaign manager slept in the spare bedroom. Larson's liberal outlook matched the mood of the district, and he beat Plale. But Larson didn't leave the race without some bruises.

Conservative talk-radio played up his past mistakes. Larson shoplifted food from a Milwaukee grocery store in 2000 (he agreed to take a class in exchange for dropping the ticket). In 2004, Larson jumped into his car when it was being towed and was ticketed for disorderly conduct. The ticket was later dropped.

"The people who stick on it the most, they're not going to vote for me," he says. "Look, we're human. Everybody makes mistakes at some point through life. It's a matter of what you do with them. Given that I've worked very hard and that I have my family that I love and I'm doing this work for the people, I think I've come pretty far and have learned from those mistakes. I've made peace with it. I think it's not a matter of trying to find forgiveness from talk radio, because it's not going to come."

Larson has earned respect from many of his colleagues.

Rep. Fred Kessler (D-Milwaukee), a veteran legislator, was impressed with Larson the first time he saw him speak at a political event during the 2008 run for the county supervisor seat.

"I thought, this guy is a person who belongs in the sort of farm team of progressive future leaders," Kessler says.

Kessler says that when he spoke with Larson, he expressed an ambition to lead the Milwaukee County Board. But Kessler says he told Larson to aim higher.

"The catbird seat in politics is to be in the state Senate," Kessler says, noting that it was a launch pad for politicians including Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and former Mayors John Norquist and Henry Maier.

If the state's liberals are building up a farm team, then Larson has emerged as something of a general manager. He helped spearhead the creation of a Milwaukee-area leadership training group called DemTEAM, helping political newcomers learn the nuts and bolts of running for office.

The 2012 election cycle saw the rise of this new generation that includes Milwaukee Democratic Reps. Mandela Barnes and Daniel Riemer, who knocked off Democratic incumbents, and Sen. Nikiya Harris (D-Milwaukee), who won a primary against more seasoned rivals.

"Chris has a grass-roots approach," Harris says. "He cares about meeting with and working with people who have progressive values."

Larson is taking that grass-roots approach to a larger stage. He was thrust into the spotlight early on in his Senate career when he was one of the 14 Democrats to leave the state to try to derail Gov. Scott Walker's plan to curtail collective bargaining for most public workers. He emerged as a key Democratic spokesman in the battle over collective bargaining.

A quick rise in Senate

In any other period, he might have had to patiently wait his turn for party leadership. But the last two years have been unlike any in the state's history. In November, he entered the race to lead the 15-member Democratic caucus and defeated a more experienced politician, Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton), by a single vote.

Republicans were stunned. "Sometimes, God gives you a gift," Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said after he heard the news.

When Larson called his first Senate caucus meeting of the new legislative session last week, three Democrats were missing - Erpenbach, Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) and Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee). Larson replaced Jauch and Taylor on the powerful Joint Finance Committee.

Jauch told the Journal Sentinel, "When (Larson) decided to barter one of the two Finance positions for his own, I decided I'm going to serve my district - I don't serve him. When you decide to put yourself and a title ahead of the best interests of the caucus, I think it says more about him than me."

Larson says he's confident that his caucus will be united.

"Look, I already told you I had to ask my wife twice to marry me," he says. "I don't give up easily. I'm still trying to earn their support, still trying to earn their respect and I'll continue to work toward that. And it's not going to happen overnight."

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) says he has a cordial relationship with Larson but doesn't know him well. The two men have talked and their staffs are getting to know each other.

Fitzgerald does know some of the pressure that Larson may face, though.

"The thing that a lot of people forget is if you became leader by one vote you can lose by one vote," Fitzgerald says. "That can happen very quickly. That is the one thing Chris is probably thinking in the back of his mind."

Larson says he's ready for the session.

"The spirit of moderation is in the air," he says. "It's delicate, but it's there."

But soon, talk will turn to legislating. And the Republicans are in the majority and in control. The Democrats may lose in the short term. But Larson, the marathoner, appears to be playing a longer political game.

"At the end of the day," Larson says, "the best thing the Democrats can do is play the conscience of the state, because Scott Walker has the votes to do whatever he wants with the Assembly and the Senate."

About Bill Glauber

Bill Glauber is a general assignment reporter, focusing on profiles and politics.